Living the Dream
by Toki Hasegara
Summary: A dream finally becomes reality when Ruka, Mikan, Nastume and Hotaru all live in one house after graduation. But living closer to each other, doesn't make things any better. NxM, RxH
1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note**: New Story. I'm really happy, and am currently planning out the ideas for this new story. I hope that this will turn out okay. Hope ya like it! -Toki

**Chapter 1: ****New Beginnings**

_

* * *

"Me and Natsume, we dream of one day living out in the country in peace. I would become a veterinarian and take care of the animals, while Natsume would do other things and be treated as a normal person. We'd be happy there, and no one would come to disturb us; nor would anyone be around to order us around. Yes, that is what we dream of."_

_"Ruka, I'm sure your dream will come true someday!"_

_"Really?"_

_"Of course, for sure!"_

_As the shadows of my memories fade back into my mind, her figure again reappears in my dream. **She **would be there as well...Her brown pigtails would flow down, and she would be dressed in a summer dress, showing off her curves. Her smile would light up each day, and we would both forget every pain this Academy has brought upon us. Yes, she would surely bring us the happiness that we have been searching for. I'm sure..._

* * *

**A certain blonde's point of view...**

"Ruka?"

Here I was, dreaming again of that time long ago when I told a certain brunette, of my dream. Even after seeing **her** and my best friend toppled on top of each other inside that haunted house and imagining what might have happened, I look back and laugh. Years have passed since then, and we have recently graduated from Alice Academy,

We made it through the years; and because of her, we never tried to escape school again. Sure, there were happy moments and sad moments; there was even that uncomfortable feeling that we had towards each other. My best friend never told her about his feelings because he wanted me to be happy, and so did I; but I knew that the feelings I felt for **her **would never be reciprocated. It was during the 'last dance' that I realized it, but **he **wouldn't accept it; and so that's how it went.

"Ruka..."

There, that voice came again. The once present raspyness had evolved to a sweet tune that sung a song. It belonged to **her**, she who had changed our lives from the moment she stepped into the Academy premises. It was because of this girl that everything in the Academy changed, not only for me and my best friend, but for all of us.

"Ruka-pyon?"

I woke up from my daydream."What?" I replied when she called me again, and she looked at me strangely. Her golden brown hair cascaded down her shoulders that ended on a formly shaped breast. She wore a white sundress with sunflower-designs printed on it, her brown sandals accentuating her shapely long legs that had grown since the first time they had met. Her long bare arms glistening under the sun as her straw hat covered her eyes from the sun. From here, I could see the glow in those dark brown eyes. I used to think that they were big and dull, but that was before I realized that her whole face was always lit up, and that made me happy.

She laughed and gave me a small poke in the stomach. "Nani? You're dreaming again?"

She took the pink bunny away from me and began tickling it like crazy on the grass. Usually, the animals would get really mad when someone did that. But when it came to her, nothing was impossible. They took to her, like bees to honey; and the animals absolutely adore her, even if she doesn't have any pheremone.

"No." I replied. "I was looking at this house and remembering how much I've dreamed of this day. I can't believe that our dream is now a reality, and it's right in front of us!"

She looked at the house again, and smiled. "Yea, we finally pulled enough money together to buy this. This cost a lot, even with Hotaru's share."

Yea, Hotaru Imai, her best friend. She knows how I feel and she's always encouraging me, but I can't. It makes me wonder if she donated so much money, just to quickly put me in this situation. If we didn't get money from her, it would take a year or more for us to have earned enough.

"Hey, you two. Polka-dotted, strawberry-designed panties girl and Ruka, come help me out with the boxes would ya?" a voice called from the black sports car that was parked beyond the white fence.

"Hai, hai..." she called out. "And stop doing that Natsume, call me by my name, I know you can." She teased him, and of course, it worked.

Natsume, my best friend, gave _her _that look again. She didn't notice it, but I did.

"Fine. Mikan, help me out with these boxes, darn it. More than half of these are yours. Why did you have to bring a lot of stuff from the Academy anyways?" Natsume replied in a softly annoyed voice. I noticed that the gruffness disappears when he talks to her.

"Well, I didn't want to throw away the photo albums that I collected through the years. Those albums happen to hold our memories, which is something I'd like to keep. Thank you." Mikan took the box from Natsume's hand and went over to the door of the house. With her foot, she nudged it open and went in.

I went over to the sports car and left Mr Bunny on the grass, to play with the birds that dropped by to greet us.

"Natsume". He was busy pulling out the boxes from the trunk of the car, and he didn't mind me when I walked up to the pile on the ground.

I called out to him again, and he turned to me. "What?"

I smiled at him and laughed, "We finally got to fulfill our dream."

Natsume looked at me, then at the house, and then at the figure that had entered the house. He smiled again. He has been smiling more since _she _arrived. I saw that he understood what I meant...

* * *

**Mikan...**

The house was quite bigger than what it seemed from the outside. The serenity of the isolation only added to the grandeur of the dream. It felt like only yesterday when Ruka told me of their dream, to stay in a house such as this. And finally, after graduating from the Academy, we were able to buy a house of their own. Of course, the money that Hotaru had given was a lot, but it wasn't enough until they pooled all their money together.

"It really is huge."

I walked into a large hall and placed the box in the corner. The room was a bit musty, a little dusting would do it some good. It reminded me of the attic room thatI got when I was first assigned as a _No Star_, it was empty and bare, except for the bed, table and the dusts which cluttered every corner.

I walked into the next room, and it suddenly struck me. It was a library, with an uncommonly large fireplace, and a mantle that sat atop the stones. Shelves filled the walls, from left to right, and top to bottom.

I thought, _This would be my own room, a place where I can relax. _Since discovering romance novels in high school, I was soon addicted to the plot and words that formed such books. Countless authors such as Johanna Lindsey, Judith McNaught, Jude Deveraux and Mary Jo Putney filled many boxes that I packed when we left the school. I lose myself when I read books, it was one of the few pleasures that I truly had to myself.

I walked over to the shelves, _dusty_, the shelves were coated with layers of dust that had accumulated over the numerous years that this house had gone unused.

Nearing graduation, it was a good thing that I finally won an honors' award and together with Ruka, Natsume and Hotaru, we took advantage of our one week vacation and started looking for our own place. We travelled around but we couldn't find our own place, till we stumbled upon this little town and Natsume's sports car broke down. Of course, with Hotaru's recently sold invention, we were able to pay the downpayment. The rest of the money came from the salary that me, Ruka-pyon and Natsume earned through our part time jobs at Central Town.

From the library, I noticed that another door was hidden beside the shelves. The room I entered in was actually a recently remodeled modern kitchen. Numerous utensils filled the counter and cabinets, with steel appliances and silverware adorning their respective places in the kitchen. "Woah..."

Images of the food being cooked here, and its smell wafting throughout the entire house appeared in my mind as real as Yuu's Alice.

I found two more doors leading from the kitchen to other parts of the house. I opened one and found that it led to the dining room, the other led back to the hall. It was then that I noticed the staircase. It had a wooden banister, with carpeted flooring and wooden panelling on the side. The banister looked like it had been recently polished, and was clean and dust-free compared to the kitchen and the library.

The staircase led all the way up to the attic, and there on the second floor were four unused rooms. The closest one to the staircase was a small room with a high ceiling, on the side were a set of stairs that led to what looked like a second floor inside the room; _Hotaru would definitely love this room_.

The room across from it was large, and it looked like it had a patio leading to the garden. The sun streamed in, and I noticed that there was a great view of the garden below, as well as the mountains that lay beyond the town. _A sure-Ruka room. _

Down the hall was a large bathroom, with a tub and shower area installed. It was tiled and had marble fixtures that looked spick and span. The room further down the hall was medium-sized, it had a fire-place on the side and a large window that overlooked the lake that was partially covered by the Cherry Blossom trees and stables. It even had a staircase that led to the rooftop. It wasn't that roomy, but it struck me as a room that Natsume would like.

Curious as to what the attic held, I raced out of the room and ran up the flight of stairs.

In place of a musty dust-covered attic room, was a large room with two windows where the sun streamed in. It had a lot of space, and it reminded me of my first room at the academy. I instantly took to the room, and began mapping out where I would put my belongings.

* * *

**Natsume...**

_She finally ran up to the attic. _

I had left Ruka in the garden where he stayed moving the boxes out of the trunk. The animals had finally gotten attracted to his pheremone and they surrounded him in packs.

"Bye Ruka!" I called out to him and left him to the animals that had formed a fan group around him.

I soon entered the house, and quickly caught movement in the next room. Moving towards it, a glimmer of brown catches my attention. The sun reflected through the dust-covered windows and bounced off Mikan's hair. Watching as she walked through the room, and touching the shelves as she passed by, I stood in awe at her beauty. Over the years, she had become more and more beautiful, and both me and Ruka had become more open to her.

Well, it was Hotaru's idea to have all of us living in the same house until Mikan could find where she belonged. Of course, how can that stupid girl surive in the real world if she didn't have us to watch over her. Darn it, I remind myself of that idiot Narumi-sensei.

"Woah.."

Her voice, muffled, came from the wall beyond the library. I spotted a door beside the bookcase and followed her voice. A kitchen, fully stocked! It was amazing, but not as amazing as Mikan's amused figure, gaping at the utensils that surrounded her. I could imagine her in the kitchen, cooking away like a housewife.

After about ten minutes of her figure going about the kitchen, she headed off into another room. I silently followed behind her, watching her as she ran up the stairs and as she went to each of the rooms. Even when she entered the last room, and I hid in the comfort room, I saw her run out and up the attic.

Haha. She did not even see the other set of stairs that was beyond the last room. She ran up in a hurry, with her footsteps echoing throughout the house.

I took my time going up the stairs, glancing at each room and taking it all in, my very first house. It all seemed like a dream to me. But as I climbed up the stairs, and found Mikan jumping from one corner to another, I found that this dream truly was a reality.

Her loose hair clung to her face, as it showed her annoying smile. Her laughter rang throughout the room, as she ran to the window, then to the fireplace.

For a moment, I just wanted to go over to her, and tell her what I truly felt. All those years, I never told her what she meant to me. Those countless moments that we were alone together, I had to keep myself from blurting it straight out.

_You don't have to see the darkness that you aren't meant to see..._

I could remember the words that I told her on that night. How could I drag her into the world of darkness that I was once trapped in. She belongs with the light, she doesn't need to see what I have been through.

She stood near the fireplace, and put her hands out to it, imagining a fire was present.

I pointed my finger to it, and a small flame emerged from the ashes.

It was then that she suddenly stood up and faced me. I quickly hid in the darkness of the attic beams, but it was too late.

There she stood, gazing at me, her eyes glued to mine. Though I was shrouded by the darkness, she could clearly see my eyes looking at her the way she looked at me. At that moment, all I wanted to do was hold her tight and never let go.

Mikan stretched out her arm to me. "Natsume...", she whispered.

At that moment, I didn't know what happened. I felt like my face was burning, and I quickly descended the stairs. I tried to walk back out of the house, and to Ruka, acting as if nothing had happened. I'm sure she didn't follow me down when I left.

There was a tree outside the house, and it reminded me a lot of the trees where I used to hide in, back at the Academy.

I walked over to it and sat down under the shades while I watched Ruka, whocontinued playing with the animals.

_Yea, she doesn't need to see the darkness. This is a new beginning for me, and for Ruka and her as well. I won't let anyone take them away from me again._

* * *

**Author's Note**: Hey there, hope ya liked that really long chapter. I hope that I will be updating soon, but school's about to start again, and I have 3 other fanfics to update. But if you review a lot, and give me lots of comments and suggestions, I might be able to update soon. -Toki 


	2. Looking to the past, then to the future

**A/N:Thanks for those who left reviews. I was really surprised to find out that I had 11 reviews, after just two days of posting the story. It really inspired me to continue making the story, since it seems you guys are really interested in my plot. **

**Hey fellow Pinoys. You're presence hasn't gone unnoticed. Mabuhay Pinoy! **

Amazoness Archer: Yea, I will try to update ASAP. Thanks for commenting on my writing, it means that my writing is getting better, compared to my old fanfics. :)

Keiko Oda: Thanks for adding this to your fave stories list. Please continue to watch for updates .

tsunami23: What an inspiring comment. I'm glad that my writing has improved, to the point that you can imagine the story unfolding in your head. Yea, that episode is one of my faves as well:) I realized that I had a lot of typos, and went on to re-edit the previous chapter. I must install Microsoft Office, which I haven't gotten to doing yet.

diana05: Thanks so much! I'm hoping that inspiration for this fanfic will continue to flow into my head. Yea, I love Otogi Zoshi too. :)

reminiscemina1215: Really? My detailing is improving..yey!

SasuNaru-Love and dbzgtfan2004:Yea, Mikan and Natsume rock!

danavalkyrie : Lol. Thanks for putting it into detail. I'm glad that you like my fic, and also proceeded to add me as a fave author. I'm honored.

Kurobarachi and aya09 : Here is what you've been waiting for. :)

keesha: Thanks, hope that this does go on...(",)

**Chapter 2: Looking to the past, then to the future**

* * *

After the incident in the attic, Mikan and Natsume decided to go off and do something on their own, doing their best to avoid each other. The house was practically bare and empty; so the trio decided to make the most out of the day and make the house more livable. 

Natsume headed into town, suggesting that he would buy some furniture to fill the empty house with. So as soon Ruka had emptied the trunk of its contents, he was off in second. He drove off quickly, in hopes that he could get away from _her._

"Ne, Ruka-pyon?" Mikan called from the window of her attic room.

Ruka looked around, wondering where the voice had come from, till he spotted Mikan's figure at the window. "Nani?"

"Where did Natsume head off to?"

"He went off to the town to buy us some furniture and other things as well." Ruka replied, with a tinge of annoyance. He tried to drag the boxes in, but there were too many for him to carry. Mr. Bunny tried pushing the boxes as well, but ended up sprawled on the grass.

"I see..." Mikan's figure then disappeared from the window, footsteps echoing throughout the house before she soon reappeared at the hall doors.

With Mikan's help, they brought the boxes into the hall and began segregating each piece. After they had decided which boxes belonged to whom, Ruka grabbed his pile of boxes and began to rummage through them, pulling out some animal food and dog-dishes.

"Mikan, I'm heading over to the stables at the back, okay? I'm sure that some of the animals would be hungry by now." Ruka stood up and headed out the door, turning left as he rounded the corner and into the stable area.

Going through her pile of boxes, Mikan found the one that contained all her cleaning materials. She pulled out a mop, a bucket, a broom, dustpan, and some rags; before heading into the library.

For some reason, the library was the only room that was completely covered in webs and dust.

* * *

**Mikan ...**

"Man, it's dusty!" Flipping open the different switches that I found on the wall, I thus conclude that this room hasn't been cleaned in a very long time. Watching the chandeleir and other lamps light up, illuminating the layers of dust, I also find dead flies and insects cluttered on the floor. The lamps and chandeleir are covered with webs, which only dimmed the light that they emitted.

_I hope there aren't any ghosts here._ Ghosts, they freak me out a lot. Though only a few people know of my fear of ghosts, it happens to be of my biggest phobias. Ever since I was small, I always had to have someone accompany me to dark places. Haunted houses, dark forests and black rooms are some of those places that scare the daylights out of me.

Looking around the room again, the way it looked suddenly reminded me of Grandpa. Though it seemed scary and old at first, once you get to know it, you find that it actually becomes close to your heart.

And now that I think about it, Natsume reminds me a lot of my Grandpa and Hotaru. He always acts like he doesn't care about you, and he doesn't always smile; always calls me names and scolds me when I do something wrong. But deep down, you know that they only do that because they care a lot about you.

_Oh man! Here I am thinking about that Natsume Hyuga again. Why can't I stop thinking about that perverted idiot!_

Grabbing the closest thing I could find, which was the broom, I tried sweeping the floor so that I could forget about him. _Darn, Darn, Darn!_ _It isn't working... _The more I thought about Natsume, the more cleaning energy I had. I decided to gather the dust into small piles before transferring them into the dustpan, accidentally sweeping some into my clothes and hair.

It took such a long time, since the room was quite big. Reminds me of my old attic room in the Academy, which took me a really long time to clean. I tried my best to clean it up on my own. Of course, I could never properly fix that darn floorboard, which would creak whenever I stepped on it...

After taking on such a tiring task, I mopped up the remaining dust that had clung to the floor and the carpet. By using the mop, I was also able to reach for the webs that had stuck to the corner ceiling of the room.

I used the end of the mop and even went to Ruka to ask for a step-ladder. Of course, he laughed when he saw me covered in dust and dirt. The animals took no notice of me while they hungrily ate their food; but Ruka looked as if he wanted to laugh, but he was holding it in. I swear, if he had laughed, I would have ended up laughing at myself as well. Haha.

While I waited for the floor to dry, I went over to the shelves and dumped a rag into the water bucket. Using the wet rag, I cleaned each and every shelf, while dipping the rag back into the bucket now and then.

Now that I think about it, it's all Natsume's fault that I was doing this work. Three years ago, for my birthday, he gave me a set of romance novels. He claimed, _Take this, _

_idiot. I hope this keeps you from borrowing my manga all the time. Keep yourself busy with this and stay away from my stuff._

**It's his fault!**

But I'm glad that he gave me those set of books, I stopped borrowing his manga and became addicted to the romance novels. Then everytime we would go to Central Town, he'd buy me some more, saying that they kept me away from his manga collection. _I think it worked!_

An hour after I had wiped all the shelves of the dust, I collapsed unto the floor, tired from all the work. Trying to stretch my arm, all I feel is pain from the cramps. The bucket's filled with dust. So walking out the library with the pail, I head on to the kitchen's back door.

_There's a garden faucet there, I could throw the water on the grass._

After refilling the pail with clean water from the faucet, I head on back to the library. _All I need to clean is that fireplace and I'm through..._

The fireplace is filled with dust and soot. I try to reach inside, but the accumulated dust had hardened.

_Dang..._

Using the mop, I held on the to the end of the stick and began to poke the hardened dust. To my dismay, a pile of soot falls on top of me and from head to toe, I get covered in black ashes.

_If only Hotaru could see me now, she'd laugh at me and tell me that I should have waited for her cleaning robot. Darn, she won't be here for another week. That's too long to wait for her._

The thought of Hotaru's voice in my head, scolding me again, is too much to bear. I collapse unto the floor, laughing, until it tires me out.

_Yea. Hotaru..._

Before I know it, I've fallen asleep on the floor of the library. Not even the filth I was covered in, could wake me up from my sleep.

* * *

**Ruka...**

The animals continued to crowd around me. So far, I've counted twelve animals in the pack. There were three horses, two ducks, a cat, a dog, three birds, one cow, and Mr. Bunny.

_The dog-dishes I brought weren't enough...there are so many animals here too._

I realized that I was still trying to keep my pheremone on a down-low, to keep away too many animals. It was strange though, to find such comfort in a place like this. If only it could be like this forever. If only no one would come here and disturb us ever again.

Thinking such things made me remember how Mikan had saved me and Natsume on countless occassions. Though she didn't look like the type of person who could ever be of use to anyone, Mikan had been an important part of our life. If it weren't for her, I'm sure that Natsume wouldn't be here now. Her Nullification Alice is a great asset, keeping Natsume from overdoing his Alice.

_They really do make a great pair._

Another pang of jealousy hit me. Even though I know that she doesn't feel the same towards me, I can't gather the courage to tell her. Is it because I'm afraid that I'm wrong, or that Natsume would get hurt. Either way it's better like this, so that we won't be forced to do anything irrational, I hope.

"Ruka-pyon?"

Mikan's head suddenly poked out from the back of the house.

I could barely keep myself from laughing. She was covered in dust and grime, and she still looked like the most beautiful girl in the world.

"Nani, Mikan?"

"Uhm, I was wondering if I could borrow a step-ladder. I need to clean some high places, but I can't reach them, it's still too high for me." She twirled her dirty hand around her dust-covered hair, trying to pat it away, yet the dirt refused to let go. She tried it on her dress as well but the dirt had clung to her legs and her sundress. _She had forgotten to change to cleaning clothes. Man, she'll have to wash that well or else the grime will never get removed._

I handed her the step-ladder that was propped against a stall. "Here you go." She took it from me, gave me a wry smile and left.

For a minute, I wondered why she gave me such a look. But knowing Mikan, the reason must be pretty shallow since she has a corny sense of humor.

I went back to feeding the animals, envying their care-free life that had no worries and stress involved. Out here in the country, it was like paradise.

_Paradise? _It suddenly gave me an idea!

A game called "Harvest Moon", which was about a guy living on a farm and raising animals and growing crops, suddenly popped into my head. I could do something like that. I could be a veterinarian, a rancher and a farmer. That would really be swell, and Natsume and Mikan and Hotaru could help me out as well.

I began mapping out the idea in my head. There was a large plot of land near the house, which I could use for the crops once I've tilled the soil. I could also enlarge the stable and connect it to a barn. Then, I could ask Natsume to help me build a poultry pen for the chickens and rooster, which I could buy somewhere nearby.

The idea about owning my own farm really got me thinking. I was about to call Natsume on the phone when something caught my attention. The animals all looked at me, then back to their now empty food dishes.

"Hai Hai. Here you go." I placed more food into their dishes before resuming my thoughts.

I ran back into the house, and came out with some paper and pen. While the animals looked to me in curiousity, I laid out the paper on the ground and began to draw a blueprint of the area.

* * *

**Natsume...**

The wind in my hair was quite refreshing as I continued to drive through the country. Instead of heading straight into town, I decided to take a long-cut and cruise around the place. It reminded me a bit of my childhood...

_Darn. _The headaches came again. I stopped the car, and took some medicine from the cabinet. Nonoko made them especially for me, after having improved on her own Alice. They helped ease the pain, which was better compared to that darn Persona's medicine, which made me totally dependent on the pills.

I popped some pills into my mouth, and after the headache had disappeared, I started for the town.

It wasn't that big, and there weren't many stores. Most of the people lived how many kilometers from the town itself. I headed for what seemed like a furniture and utilities shop.

Inside were various furniture, ranging from beds, to chairs, to tables, to sofas..the works.

"Eh? I thought this was a small town?"

"It is." A voice from the back of the counter called out. Out of nowhere, there appeared a beautiful red-headed girl, who I estimated to be about my age.

"Hi, I'm Keiko." The red-headed stranger offered her hand to me in greeting.

"Natsume." I told her, ignoring her hand.

She pulled back her hand and jumped over the counter. "You must be new around her then? If you're wondering why we have such a big store, it's because lots of people buy vacation houses in these parts. Even though most of them don't actually live here, they tend to buy a lot of things for their houses."

I nodded my head to her, signalling that I was listening. She offered to show me around the store, and I again nodded to her.

Keiko took me to a part of the shop that sold beds and other household furniture. Bringing along a small notepad, I picked out what I wanted to buy while she jotted my orders down. I decided to buy for Ruka, Hotaru and that idiot as well, since they weren't here to chose for themselves. Either way, I think I know them well enough to be sure of what to buy.

I pointed to more objects. "This lamp...that bed...those dressers..that dining table...those chairs.." As I circled the whole store, Keiko continued jotting down my orders and followed me around some more.

"I think that would be best for now." I said to Keiko as she moved to the back of the counter, and began to ring up the total amount.

She gave the price and I wrote her a check.

As I was headed back outside to do some errands, Keiko called to me again. "Excuse me, Natsume?"

I turned to her, and gave her a blank stare.

She continued to smile. "I could drop these by your house if you'd like." She offered to drive a truck out to the house and deliver the furniture herself.

I gave her a shrug and a nod. I turned back and wrote the directions to the house, before heading back out.

As soon as I walked out of the store, I heard my phone ring. It was Ruka.

"Ruka? What's the problem?"

"Oh nothing Natsume. I was wondering if you could buy more food dishes, the ones I brought weren't enough."

"Sure, it's no problem. Anything else?"

"Uh yea." There was a hint of excitement in Ruka's voice. It made me wonder what had made him so happy. Thoughts of him and Mikan suddenly popped into my head and then...

"Natsume, I was wondering if you could buy some materials for farming, as well as some food for chickens and horses and such?"

_Farming? Chicken and horse food? What the heck was he saying?_

"Ne, Ruka?" I started saying..

"I'll explain later Natsume. Just please go out and buy the materials for me. Thanks." And with that, Ruka stopped the call.

_Sure, whatever..._

I headed to what looked like a grocery store and bought some animal food, as well as food for us.

The old man at the counter smiled at me and asked me if I was new in town. He introduced himself as Wei, a chinese immigrant who was with his wife Mei. He went on to talk about how handsome I was, and asked if I was married or something. I don't know. I was there for about an hour, listening to the old man talk about how he began his store.

I just bought what I needed and suggested that we talk again another time. I didn't want to seem to rude.

I placed the things at the trunk of my car and headed to the next shop. It was a small shop that had sold quite a few modern farming materials. I decided to buy the basics like a hoe, water hoses, some seeds and fertilizer. The rest of the materials, I left to Ruka to buy later on.

When I was done, I went back to my car and headed for home.

_Yea...home..._

* * *

Toki's Note: Yup, sorry that's all I got for now. I couldn't help myself but add a little Harvest Moon to the story, I really love that game. Hope you liked the chapie.

I don't know when I will be able to update again, so please just watch out for it. Thanks so much!


	3. The dream continues

**Author's Note: **Thank you to all the people who patiently waited for me to update my fanfic. Even though I thought I had lost the inspiration to continue with my fanfictions after all the chapters I had written got erased (see profile for info), people continued to comment and read the 2 chapters that I had put up.

This is for you. Thank you so much, and I hope that you will continue to support me as well. - Toki

**Chapter 3: The dream continues  
**

* * *

**Keiko…**

I drove down the highway in my green truck, carrying the furniture that had been ordered by Natsume. In mind, all I could think of was his face and how he looked like when he had first entered the store.

"God, he was handsome." _Why couldn't all the men who had courted me years before like him?_ Natsume was just so different; there was something really special about him.

Memories of numerous boyfriends and past relationships throughout her teenage years had flooded her mind.

Boys, not men, with whom she had gone to school with, were so immature and simple-minded. They flocked to her so easily because she was smart, and though she was from the country like most of them, she had dreamed big dreams for herself years after she graduated from their small town's university.

"So…I turn left here?"

It was easy to follow the instructions on the quickly drawn map, which soon led me to a large property with a fairly large house. It looked friendly and homely with a large unused area of land surrounding the building.

The black sports car that I saw Natsume driving wasn't there. There were some boxes laid out on the front lawn and the entrance to the house beyond the picket fence was open.

Opening the back truck, I slowly pulled out the furniture, starting with the light ones and moving to the heavy ones.

"Uhm, how will I assemble the large ones?"

Most of the things were disassembled in their respective boxes, and instructions were laid out but…

"Oh I can't wait for Natsume to arrive. I'll wait a bit more so when he arrives home, I'll be able to help him assemble the furniture into his house. I can't wait, that'll leave us some time to spend together."

I furiously jumped for joy as I put down the rest of the things unto the front lawn, in boxes and the small ones, unpacked. Leaving my keys inside the truck, I decided to take a peak into his house, wondering if I could possibly catch something of his that was personal.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly made my way into the house. There were some boxes still laid out at the entrance hall, with some of them opened and still closed. The house was perfectly spotless with no hint of dust anywhere.

From the side, a room caught my eye, with a dark appearance within an open room.

Inside, trickles of dust seemed like they had been disturbed a short while ago, because the floor was filled with the filth, yet some spaces had an imprint of a shoe imparted on them. All was quiet, and the sun barely shone through the dust-covered windows.

Glancing around, everything looked normal and an eerie silence continued to cover the entire room.

Suddenly, a shifting sound from within surprised me.

"A girl?" That was the source of the sudden shifting movement that I had heard early on. There, in front of the fireplace, lay a brunette girl completely covered in dust and soot.

In her obviously once white sundress, she lay asleep and serene across the floor. Her long hair spilled beautifully across the floor, her arms entwined around each other beside her bosom, and her long smooth legs bunched together in a fetal like sleeping position.

Watching her silently, I noticed her slow breathing. Her undisturbed figure continued to lay there, unaware that someone, me, was glancing at her in awe. "She's so beautiful", I suddenly whispered to myself.

It was obvious; this had to be Natsume's girlfriend. Who else, who would be so beautiful, could be his and living in the same house as his.

_She is the epitome of perfection, dust-covered and all._

It was like, I couldn't move. After realizing the truth, I froze in my position. _Yes, I have no chance with Natsume if I have to compete with such a pretty girl like this._

"Natsume…" I continued to think to myself. "No, no chance.."

"Natsume"

_Wait, that wasn't me._

I looked towards the sleeping figure, it was she who whispered _his _name.

I couldn't stand it even more. Forcibly, I tried to move but it felt like my feet were glued to the dust-covered ground. The figure in front of me moved yet again, whispering another name, "……"

My heart pounding fast and my whole body aching, I couldn't bear to hear the rest of the beautiful girl's whispers, for fear that she'd whisper Natsume's name yet again. And when I could finally move my legs again, I ran out of the room as fast and as quietly as my legs could take me.

The sunset hovered around the house, giving off an orange glow towards my truck. Yet it seemed like it didn't matter and I ran towards the truck as fast as I could.

With the keys still in place, it took me a moment to get a hold of myself.

_Nastume_.

_Her_ face filled my mind yet again, but the only thing I could remember was the way she whispered _his _name in her sleep.

Before tears could well up in my eyes, I drove off from the property as fast as I could.

* * *

**Natsume…**

After shopping for all the necessary and unnecessary things that I bought, it was time to head back home. Yet excited as I was to come back to something called home, I wasn't excited to have to face Mikan after the scene that occurred earlier that day.

"Mikan…"

Yes, she had grown up to be such a lady. And despite being relatively dense and all, she had gotten smarter in her studies, whether or not our intelligence rubbed off on her is still a matter of discussion. She had changed so much in terms of appearance, but her attitude was still the same as that girl whose skirt had fallen off on their first meeting.

The wind beside the sea blew in my direction, and the smell of salt water was seemingly relaxing. It was great that the town had both mountains and the sea, with a perfect view of both from their house. Yet as sudden as it came with comfort, the sea and mountains reminded me too of the numerous missions I had to undergo because of Persona.

_Headache_. It came back again. _Darn, I have to stop thinking of Persona, he makes my head hurt even more…I might run out of medicine before Nonoko sends the next batch._

I popped another set of pills into my mouth and the headache soon subsided.

This long-cut home was quite relaxing. I rounded the corner of the cliff and passed the town's temple shrine before finding myself back on the road towards the farm.

The sound of the wind could be heard through the silence of the air. All was quiet and it seemed wrong to disturb the calmness of the surroundings by turning the radio on.

As soon as I got back on the main road, I found myself surrounded by hectares and hectares of fields that went by so fast. The air didn't smell salty anymore and I occasionally passed a house out in the field, though there weren't many of them.

The sound of the wind could be heard through the silence of the air. All was quiet and it seemed wrong to disturb the calmness of the surroundings by turning the radio on.

I took it all in. The air, the silence and serenity, and the surroundings.

All was soon disturbed as a green truck quickly whizzed by. The truck passed by too quickly for me to catch the driver maniacally steering the darn thing, but they looked like they were in a hurry. Ignoring whoever it was that disturbed my drive back home, I continued on and reached home at around sunset.

Driving into the lot, everything seemed quiet, too quiet.

"Where the heck is everyone? Ruka? Mikan?" I shouted not too loudly as I turned off my car's engine.

There was a pile of furniture already laid out on the front lawn, which I surmised to be Keiko's handiwork. She probably had spare time and dropped off the things before she went back to work.

"Natsume, you finally home?" Ruka called out as he peeked from the left-side of the house, near where the stables were. He was covered in dirt and animal food, which wasn't something odd for him to be in.

"Yup, I'm finally home. I can't believe you've been feeding the animals the whole time I was away."

"Well, I was. Oh heck, wait, another animal's arrived. Be back later Natsume."

And soon Ruka was gone again.

"Oh shit, I forgot to ask where the heck the polka-dotted panties girl was. It's odd that she's so darn quiet at a time like this…"

_She must be off adventuring somewhere out in the field and would be back later. Of course she can't cook tonight; I just bought the food today. I'll just order food for now and have her cook tomorrow.   
_

I headed into the kitchen and soon found the phone located beside the refrigerator. After phoning a small restaurant in town, they promised to deliver the food in an hour.

"Hey Ruka!" I again called out.

"What?" Ruka popped his head in through the open kitchen window and looked at me.

"After you're done feeding the animals, don't forget about us hungry humans here. I ordered food and it's coming in an hour, so could you bring out the plates from the box in the den?"

"Natsume, why not you then? You're practically there."

Being a bit playful, I singed a part of Ruka's hair with my fire. "Well because I have to arrange the pile of furniture that I bought in town. You don't want to sleep on the floor tonight do you?"

Ruka looked at me with a slightly annoyed look on his face. He was twirling the strand of hair that I burnt before plucking it out of his head. "Fine then. Just don't mess up my room okay, or you're gonna regret it." Ruka winked as he said that last sentence, before his head soon disappeared again into the stables.

I headed back outside, it was already dark. There were some lamp posts outside of the fence and I quickly used my Alice to light them. They shone brightly and gave me some light as I brought in the important furniture, like the chairs and beds, all disassembled in their own boxes.

The chairs were easy to assemble, but the beds were a different matter. Figuring it would be hard to bring them up after I assembled them, I brought the boxes up one by one and assembled them in their respective rooms. Mikan's was the last, and when I was finally done, I went back downstairs and found the food already laid out on the table.

"I'm already done eating Natsume. What took you so darn long?"

"Ruka," I said with one eyebrow slightly raised, "it's not easy assembling your beds ya know. I'm only one person here."

I finished my meal after a few minutes. Ruka continued to silently stare at me as I ate.

_Why the heck is he looking at me like that. _

With a confused look, Ruka finally blurted out, "Wait, isn't Mikan with you? I thought she was helping you assemble the furniture, she's been quite quiet for some time now."

"No she isn't. I thought she'd be back from adventuring through the fields or something by now."

"Oh, she isn't in the fields. She was in the library last time as I saw her."

Ruka looked as if he was trying to recall if he was correct or not.

"That darn idiot. Ruka, clean up my plate will you, I'll look for her." I stood up and walked out of the kitchen leaving a silent Ruka in my wake.

It was quite bright in the library, now that I noticed it. Not only that, but it was perfectly spotless and all. The dustpan in the corner looked like it was recently used because there were specks of dust clinging to it.

_There she is, that idiot._

I found Mikan, sprawled on the floor all covered in dust. Her white dress was now grey and black, and there were particles of soot all over her long brown hair. She didn't even bother to change into house clothes before she decided to do a cleaning spree. I think she was asleep because she was breathing very softly and she wasn't moving.

She shifted her position, and her lips were parted softly.

_Darn, she's so beautiful. If only she could be mine without it posing as a problem. Darn._

"You find her Natsume?" Ruka entered the library and found me standing beside her figure.

"Hey Ruka, I've got her here. Let's not wake her up, and wait till tomorrow. She looks so peaceful."

"Sure." Ruka responds silently.

I pick up Mikan's sleeping figure and leave the room, ascending the stairs before bringing her up to my room.

"Sure Natsume, no problem."

* * *

**A/N: **That's the end of that chapter. Sorry if it took me practically a whole year before I updated. I hope you enjoyed that chapter, it gives a clearer view of the plot though I haven't gotten the story completely figured out just yet. -Toki 


	4. Through the Night

**Author's Note: **I hope you like this new chapter. It's taken me a while to figure out how to continue the rest of the chapters, added to all the schoolwork I've got to do before the end of the semester. Actually, I'm suppose to be finishing some things for school, but it seems like I've procrastinated yet again. So please be patient with the updates for this fanfic, I'm doing the very best that I can. Thank you so much.

**To all those who've left reviews:** Thank you so much for your patience and kind words towards my writing style and the story I've created. I hope that I can continue to please all of you with what I've written.

**To all those who have added this story to their favorites list, and to those too who've added me on their favorite authors' list: **Thank you so much for appreciating this story, and appreciating a novice author like me. I hope that you continue reading this, and my other stories as well.

okaix: Did I make your wish come true:)

**Chapter 4: Through the Night **

* * *

**Ruka...**

I watched Natsume carry her figure intimately up the stairs. He was careful not to disturb her and carried her as gently as a groom carries his new bride. _They look really good together, though it's very painful to admit to such a thing. _And it was indeed very true, they had always looked good together and it seemed that they liked each other very much though Mikan doesn't say it out loud. I'm just her Ruka-pyon, the friend who's always sticking out for her and protecting her as much as he can. But I don't think she even realizes that she treats me and Natsume differently.

_Sigh_

I walked back to the kitchen and gazed at the small table, looking at the food we had ordered and plates licked clean. Despite the feeling of being out of place with those 2 frustrated lovers, it made me realize how independent we've finally become. We were free of the academy and it's unfair rules, free of teachers who never taught us anything decent and mistreated us with their own alices, free of people who wanted to use us for their own selfish reasons.

Gathering the plates and dishes together felt so alive for some reason. Even the simplest of tasks as putting the left-over food in a container that I placed inside the refrigerator gave me a sense of belonging, a sense of home. This wasn't a place that we would need to part from, we didn't need to rush off to anywhere and we could stay right where we were.

Still lost in thought, I suddenly felt something poke my legs and found Mr Bunny looking curiously at my confused faced. As soon as he got my attention, he hopped back out the back door and into the garden.

_Oh yea, I have to clean up the dishes from the animal's dinner. _

When I followed Mr Bunny out the door, the dishes too had been licked clean and almost all the animals had dispersed. The horses were in the stables and they had almost fallen asleep, with their heads lying against the ground and their feet tucked into their body. The ducks seemed to have disappeared somewhere, but I was sure they would return the following day for breakfast. The cat and dog were laid out on the back porch, sleeping peacefully together, their legs twitching at times as if having a very nice or horrible dream. The cow had gone back out to the field and was still as it ate a bit more of grass to satisfy it's hearty appetite.

Mr Bunny hopped towards his own bowl and glancing inside, I saw that it was empty. Gathering all the dishes laid out, I brought them back into the house and dumped them into the sink with the rest of the plates. Mr Bunny followed me inside and went into the corner of the kitchen where I had previously placed his bed-basket. With the water bowl just beside it, he took a few sips before lying down on the basket and falling asleep soon after.

I tried not to act so noisily as I cleaned the utensils and the dishes. It took about 10 minutes to clear out everything and towel-dry it all before placing it inside the utensils container. The kitchen was now empty of food since I placed the left-overs inside the refrigerator, to be eaten on another day. The table was wiped clean as well, and so was the counter tops. Not a speck of dirt was left, and it all felt good.

Everything had been cleared away so I went over to Mr Bunny and carried his basket and water bowl up the stairs with me towards my room. The lights in the kitchen were turned off and everything seemed quiet enough. As Natsume had promised, my bed was already assembled and in place in my room. The doors to the patio were closed, but the moon streamed in and emitted a soft white glow that shone at the foot of my bed. On my bedside, I placed the basket and ran back downstairs to gather the boxes that belonged to me.

Rummaging through some of them, I finally found some night clothes and proceeded towards the bathroom. The room beside mine had it's doors open wide so it was probably going to be Hotaru's room. On the other hand, as I walked towards the bathroom, I found that the door across from it was closed, so it was probably either Mikan's room or Natsume's.

_Odd, so someone's sleeping in the attic? If that's the case , Mikan would probably be up there just like her first stay in the Academy, so it's probably Natsume's room across from the bathroom._

Oh well. It didn't really matter that much, though being beside Mikan's room would have proved easier for me to see her more often. Wait, stupid me! We live together, so I will definitely see her more often, but so would Natsume.

_Okay, bad thoughts Ruka! _

Dang. Okay, back to dressing up and going to bed.

It took me a short while to dress up before I headed back to my room. The weariness from the day's activities finally got to me. Throwing the dirty clothes unto the foot of my bed, I landed head-first into the comforting mattress. Finally, a good night's sleep..

* * *

**Mikan...**

_"Natsume, I have another mission for you." , _a strange raven-haired figure said from the shadows. His body was hidden by the shadows of the forest, yet his voice was loud and frightening, echoing through the stillness of the night. I watched his hand appear out of the shadows, it and it's many rings glistening in the night, pointing towards the figure sitting above him._  
_

_"What is it?" _The figure seated on the tree branch had his foot propped up and his body comfortable against the tree. The moon in the sky unveiled the blank face of a teenage boy who was silently playing with sparks of fire which came from his fingers._  
_

_"I want you to..."_

_"No, Natsume, don't!!!" I_ found myself running out unto the open space before the forest. My neat hair gushed in front of me as I ran towards the tree trunk, in front of the covered figure and the teenage boy dangling above my head_. "Persona, don't make him go again. You had him go on a mission just two days ago and he hasn't fully recovered from his injuries. Don't you care if Natsume hurts himself again?"_

_"Don't worry about me you polka-dotted panties girl. I'm feeling just fine so why don't you mind your own business and scoot back to your room and go back to bed. Stop worrying about things that don't concern you." _Natsume continued on with his blank face, and didn't even bother looking down at me. Now, he played with small balls of fire as he juggled them with one hand, continuing to ignore me as I looked at him with a pleading look.

_"There's a reason he goes on missions without complaint little girl. Natsume is just fine and he's been doing this quite a number of times already. You should know the reason why, should she not Black Cat?_ " Persona gave me and Natsume a wicked smile before turning towards Natsume as if waiting for a reply. None came. **[A.N. Black Cat or Kuro Neko is the alias that Natsume goes as on missions. This is also due to the fact that he wears a Black Cat's mask while doing his missions.**

_"Persona, stop ordering Natsume around like some kind of animal. He's had enough of you and the Academy's orders. Stop using us as a tool for your selfish reasons, we have a right to our own lives too." _I shouted as loudly as I could, and with as much confidence as I could muster in myself. I was frightened, both for myself and for Natsume.

_"Order Natsume around? Why, little girl...Natsume does his missions without complaint. Maybe you should learn to butt out of the businesses of other people. I've had enough of your constant complaints every time Natsume goes off to work."_

Persona raised his hand towards me, and I could feel him getting ready to use his alice on me. I took one step back and positioned myself, readying my alice to oppose his as soon as I felt it being released. And soon, it did. But before I could brace myself and use my own alice, Natsume came out of nowhere and came in-between the coming alice and myself.

I had no time to react, it was all too sudden. And I felt Persona's alice hit Natsume as his figure staggered towards me from the impact.

_"No!! Natsume! You stupid idiot, why'd you try and protect me from Persona's alice. I could have nullified it instantly, my alice has gotten stronger. You stupid stupid fool!" _I watched as part of Natsume's stomach began to disappear and blood came out from his lips. His eyes fluttered open and close as I watched him fall into permanent unconsciousness.

_"No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NATSUME YOU FOOL!!!"_

Suddenly, I found myself sitting up in an unfamiliar room. I was drenched in sweat, but I didn't feel all the least tired. Was it just a dream?

Through the darkness of the room, my blurry eyes spotted a sofa put against the wall and Natsume's sleeping figure still asleep. I was too drowsy to think about anything, and I fell back towards the covers and back into sleep.

* * *

**Natsume...**

Mikan was unbelievably light, not that I doubted that for a second. She was still as light to carry as before, but now, I could feel the curves of her body which wasn't there the last time. Or maybe they were but I hadn't taken the time to notice such a thing before. Despite her dust-covered figure, I could smell her wonderful scent. A hint of strawberry that was subtle enough to entice her surroundings.

I hadn't noticed but we had finally reached the attic, which was of course Mikan's room. I was walking towards her newly assembled bed, with it's pristine white covers.

_Shit. Mikan's bed cover is white. if I place her here and she wakes up tomorrow, she will get mad at me for placing her here and ruining her bed. She's such a neat freak after all._

It took me minutes to decide whether or not I should place her on her bed. I didn't get her any other furniture for the time-being, and the rest of our things were still packed away in boxes on the first floor. Finally, I decided. She'll sleep in my bed tonight, and I can sleep on the sofa I got for myself. I don't really mind if my bed gets dusty, I can just have it washed tomorrow morning.

Heading towards the other set of stairs, I went down and into my room, placing her slowly unto the bed.

She continued to breathe slowly, undisturbed by my movements as I made my way towards a pile of boxes stacked towards the side of the room. I took a pile of clothes from it and quickly made my way into the comfort room, changed and made my way back towards my room, closing the door behind me.

Mikan was still sleeping soundly, and her breathing was soft and uniformed. She looked a bit like she was feeling cold though. There was a small blanket that came with the beddings I bought, and I went towards her and covered her with it. For a while, I stayed there staring at her face before I walked over to the sofa propped against the wall. I lay down, continuing to watch her in case anything happened.

Quiet footsteps came from outside the door, nearing the room before stopping right before the door. It was probably Ruka. He stayed in front of the room a while, silent, and it made me wonder if he knew I was in here - probably did. Was he going to knock and talk to me about something perhaps?

I was about to get up and open the door for him when he suddenly walked across the hall and into the bathroom, emerging a few moments after before making his way back to his room and closing the door behind him. Moving back into a sleeping position, I continued to face Mikan and felt my eyes drooping, falling asleep soon after...

_I knew I was dreaming. The scene that was before me was something very familiar, it was that time that we found this house soon after my car broke down._

"Hyuuga, what the heck is wrong with this car of yours, it broke down!" Hotaru got out from the back of the seat where she sat beside Ruka. She was complaining about the new car I had gotten, as if nothing she made ever went wrong at least a few times...

"I'm sorry Imai, it's not my darn fault. Look, there's a house over there, let's check it out to see if someone there can help us, or lend us some tools so you can go and fix it or something."

Me and Ruka pushed the car from the road into the property. After we pushed it in, with Mikan and Hotaru following behind us and talking amongst themselves, I went up unto the porch and was about to knock when Ruka called to me.

"Uhm Natsume, I don't think anyone lives here. Look.." Ruka pointed to a "For Sale sign" lodged outside the fence of the house.

"Dang, what do we do now..." I sat myself unto the porch before noticing Mikan staring lovingly unto the house behind me.

"Wow, it's so beautiful..." Mikan said as she walked towards the porch and made her way slowly around the house. Hotaru, me and Ruka stayed in front gazing at her disappearing figure, before looking at the house and land, before going back to Mikan's re-appeared figure.

"What the heck are you talking about you baka?" Hotaru asked, pointing her Baka-gun at Mikan who was about ready to avoid it as always.

"Well," Mikan looked at me and Ruka with her defense pose before continuing on, "Remember that time in the haunted house where Jinno-sensei suddenly short-circuited the entire house while we were inside. Well after you found us, I was talking to Ruka and he told me about his dream of someday working and living in a place like this."

Ruka and me looked towards each other and nodded. Imai seemed to be getting the picture as well. "So, we're gonna live here with these 2 idiots?"

"Who you calling idiot, Hotaru?" Ruka said in defense to her statement.

Hotaru looked at the price written below the "For Sale" sign and pointed it out to us before contemplating.

Mikan turned to us and started jumping up and down. "We can work at Central Town to help us earn enough money for this place. We can just pay the down payment and pay on installment basis afterwards..."

I looked towards Hotaru who was nodding and continuing to contemplate the idea. She had a smile on her face at last. Ruka was smiling as he looked at me and towards the house. Finally, Imai stopped thinking and gave us a full nod of approval. She walked back towards my car and took something out from the back.

"Yey!" Mikan jumped up and down and walked over to Ruka smiling before facing me and giving me another smile.

Soon, Hotaru walked back towards us, check in hand. "What is that for Imai?" I looked at her with a confused look. "Well, someone's got to pay that amount today, for the downpayment. I don't think you guys have enough cash to pay for it now. Just make sure we earn enough to pay for the monthly installments."

"Arigatou Hotaru!!!" Mikan cried as she raced towards her best friend who suddenly raised her baka gun and shot it at Mikan.

After that, we called the number written on the sign and told the guy that we planned to buy it. He said he was going to make his way towards us and was meeting us soon after. I was about to say good-bye when Imai reminded me about my car and shouted for the guy to bring some repair tools along with him.

So there, the deal was done and we all signed the papers and paid the down payment price. We stayed awhile since Hotaru had to fix my darn car, but she did it real quick. It was all happy-

_"No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NATSUME YOU FOOL!!!"_

_I suddenly awoke from my dream. _

From the corner of my eye, I saw Mikan suddenly wake up and move into a sitting position. I was about to talk to her when I found her glance my way in a sleepy surprise. Deciding to keep quiet, I watched her from the corner of my eye until she fell back to sleep.

I don't think it was loud enough to wake up Ruka because he didn't come rushing into my room.

I continued to lay there, watching out for Mikan in case she had another outburst but she didn't. And as I watched, I too fell asleep..

* * *

**Author's Note: **Gosh, I'm finally done writing this chapter. It took me a while to figure out how I was going to continue this story, but it took me 2 nights to write it all out. So here it is, long and very informative. I was going to finish this up tomorrow since it's August 28 3:24am over here in the Philippines. But because of excitement as well as to how this chapter will end, and I didn't want to lose my writing momentum, I decided to finish this for you guys as well. I hope you like this chapter and how it turned out. I'm off to bed now because I've got a class at 9am and I can't be late. I even have a test later that I haven't fully reviewed for, but I chose to write this chapter instead. Bad Toki...but oh well. I hope I can update soon. Reviews are greatly appreciated! -Toki 


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